Casino wagering game incorporating elements of poker and baccarat

ABSTRACT

A method to implement a casino wagering game that allows the player to play two hands simultaneously. Each hand can be scored using a different scoring method and is compared to a dealer&#39;s hand. The dealer only is dealt one hand which is used to play against the two player hands. The player is also given the option to double one of his or her wagers depending on the point total of the player&#39;s first hand. The player is also given the option to raise one of his or her wagers depending on a poker rank of the player&#39;s second hand.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application claims benefit to U.S. provisional application No.61/382,414, entitled, “Casino Wagering Games”, filed in the USPTO onSep. 13, 2010, which is incorporated by reference herein in itsentirety.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The present general inventive concept is directed to a method,apparatus, and computer readable storage medium directed to a casinowagering game.

2. Description of the Related Art

Casino table games are widely utilized by casinos in hopes of attractinggaming action from a wide variety of players. Standard casino games suchas blackjack have been growing old as players are looking for a new andexciting game to play.

What is needed is a new wagering game that players will find exciting.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

It is an aspect of the present invention to provide an exciting casinowagering game.

The above aspects can be obtained by (a) providing a physical deck(s) ofcards; (b) receiving, from a player, a first wager and a second wager;(c) dealing, to the player, a player's first hand and a player's secondhand; (d) dealing a dealer's hand; (e) dealing a set of community cards;(f) determining a player's point total of the player's first hand; (g)determining a dealer's point total of the dealer's hand; (h) determininga player's poker hand using the player's second hand and the communitycards; (i) determining a dealer's poker hand using the dealer's hand andthe community cards; (j) resolving the first wager based on arelationship between the player's point total and the dealer's pointtotal; and (k) resolving the second wager based on a relationshipbetween the player's poker hand and the dealer's poker hand.

These together with other aspects and advantages which will besubsequently apparent, reside in the details of construction andoperation as more fully hereinafter described and claimed, referencebeing had to the accompanying drawings forming a part hereof, whereinlike numerals refer to like parts throughout.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Further features and advantages of the present invention, as well as thestructure and operation of various embodiments of the present invention,will become apparent and more readily appreciated from the followingdescription of the preferred embodiments, taken in conjunction with theaccompanying drawings of which:

FIG. 1 is a flowchart illustrating an exemplary method of implementing awagering game, according to an embodiment;

FIG. 2A is a drawing of an exemplary table layout, according to anembodiment;

FIG. 2B is a drawing of an exemplary betting circle configuration for asingle player, according to an embodiment;

FIG. 3A is a block diagram illustrating exemplary hardware to implementan electronic version of a wagering game, according to an embodiment;and

FIG. 3B is a block diagram illustrating exemplary hardware that can beused to track play at the gaming table, according to an embodiment.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

Reference will now be made in detail to the presently preferredembodiments of the invention, examples of which are illustrated in theaccompanying drawings, wherein like reference numerals refer to likeelements throughout.

The present inventive concept relates to a method, apparatus, andcomputer readable storage medium to implement a wagering game that canallow the player to play two hands simultaneously. Each hand can beevaluated against a dealer's hand with its own respective evaluationcriteria. One hand can be evaluated using a baccarat numerical scorewhile the other hand can be evaluated using a poker evaluation.

FIG. 1 is a flowchart illustrating an exemplary method of implementing awagering game, according to an embodiment.

The method can begin with operation 100, wherein the player places atleast two wagers, a baccarat wager (a first wager) and a poker wager (asecond wager). The wagers can be placed as known in the art, wherein theplayer places a wager in a respective betting circle on a physicalgaming table. The wager can be placed using cash or chips, the chips canbe directly exchangeable to and from cash.

The method can proceed to operation 101, wherein the dealer's deals outthe respective hands. The dealer can deal a first hand of two cards(although other numbers of cards can be used) to the player and a secondhand of two cards (although other numbers of cards can be used) to theplayer. The dealer also deals himself/herself a dealer's hand of twocards (although other numbers of cards can be used). The dealer's handis typically dealt face down (so the players cannot see) while theplayer's cards are typically dealt face up (or alternatively dealt facedown but viewable by the respective player).

From operation 101, the method proceeds to operation 102 whichdetermines whether the player qualifies for double on the first hand.Certain point totals would qualify the player for doubling and certainpoint totals would not (the player's first hand dealt in operation 101is used to determine the qualification). For example, the player canonly double on point totals of 2 through 5. Doubling can pay particularpayouts depending on the double number. Table I illustrates one exampleof point totals, whether doubling is possible, and respective payouts ifthe player wins after doubling.

TABLE I Point total Qualifies for double? Double pays 1 no n/a 2 yes 4:13 yes 3:1 4 yes 1:1 5 yes 1:1 6-9 no n/a

It is noted that the qualifiers and payouts in Table I are merelyexamples and other configurations can be used. For example, doublingdown on 4 can pay 6:5 on the doubled bet while paying even money on theoriginal bet, or doubling down on 2 can pay 5:1. Or in alternateembodiments, other totals can qualify for doubling (e.g., a total of 6could qualify for doubling).

Point totals can be computed by adding the numerical values of theplayer's initial first hand. If the point total is greater than 9, thenthe first digit is dropped (Baccarat style). For example, a point totalof 15 becomes 5, a point total of 10 becomes 0, a point total of 20becomes 0, etc. The highest score that can be achieved is 9. Aces countas 1.

Predefined rules (such as that in Table I) can be used to determinewhich initial point totals of the player's initial hand can be doubledon by the player (e.g., which point totals qualify for a double wager)and which point totals cannot.

If the player's point total of the first hand does not qualify fordoubling, then the method proceeds to operation 105 which is discussedbelow in more detail.

If the player's point total of the first hand does qualify for doubling,then the method proceeds to operation 103, which determines whether theplayer actually doubles. Double is optional by the player, if the playerfeels that he might prevail by doubling he or she will double, but ifthe player does not wish to place the double wager then the player candecline to place the double wager. If the player chooses not to double(the player simply declines to place a double wager on the top or orallytells the dealer that the player does not wish to double) then themethod proceeds to operation 105.

If in operation 103, the player decides to double, then the methodproceeds to operation 104, wherein the player places the double wageralongside the first wager. The double wager is typically equal in valueto the first wager (although it can be lesser in value than the firstwager). The dealer would then deal a single double card to the player(typically face up) which is then added to the player's numerical pointtotal (subject to the modulo 10 rule as discussed herein).

From operation 104, the method proceeds to operation 105, whichdetermines whether the player qualifies to raise on the player's secondhand. Certain hands qualify for a raise and certain hands do not. Forexample, a table such as Table II can be used to determine which handswould qualify for a raise. The player's second hand (dealt in operation101) is used to determine the qualification.

TABLE II Hand Qualify for raise? A4 yes A3 yes A2 yes 22 yes 33 yes 44yes 55 yes all others no

If the player's second hand does not qualify for a raise, then themethod proceeds to operation 108.

If the player's second hand does qualify for a raise, then the methodproceeds to operation 106, which determines if the player actuallychooses to raise.

If the player's second hand does qualify for a raise, then the methodproceeds to operation 106, which determines whether the player actuallychooses to place the raise wager. If the player declines to raise (bynot placing a raise wager or verbally telling the dealer that he doesnot wish to wish to raise), then the method proceeds to operation 108.

If in operation 106, the player chooses to make the raise wager, thenthe method proceeds to operation 107, which receives the raise wagerfrom the player. The player can place the raise wager alongside thesecond wager. The raise wager can be equal in value to the second wager(or it may be lesser in value to the second wager).

In operation 108, the dealer deals five community cards (although othernumbers of community cards can be used as well). The community cards aretypically dealt face up.

From operation 108, the method proceeds to operation 109, whichevaluates the hands. A point total of the player's first hand (asdescribed in operation 102) and a point total of the dealer's hand (alsocomputed as described in operation 102, which is by adding the numericalvalues in the hand modulo 10).

The player's second hand is evaluated. The best five card poker hand isformed out of the player's second hand (dealt in operation 101) and thecommunity cards (7 total cards). The dealer's hand is also evaluated aswell, by determining the best dealer's poker hand using the dealer'sinitial hand and the community cards. It is noted that when forming theplayer's best poker hand, 0-2 cards of the player's hand (dealt inoperation 101) can be used, and when forming the dealer's best pokerhand, 0-2 cards of the dealer's hand (dealt in operation 101) can beused as well. Thus, all five community cards can be used to form thebest hand for either the player, dealer, or both.

From operation 109, the method proceeds to operation 110, which resolvesthe first wager and the second wager based on the evaluation of thehands. The first wager is resolved based on who (the player or thedealer) has the hand with the highest point total. If the player's firsthand point total is higher than the dealer's point total, then theplayer wins the first wager and thus will be paid a payout on the firstwager. If the dealer's point total is higher than the player's firsthand point total, then the player loses the first wager and the dealerwould take the first wager from the player. If the player's first handpoint total ties the dealer's point total, then this is a tie. A tie canbe resolved in numerous ways, for example, a tie can push the firstwager (the player neither wins or loses). Or on event of a tie, theplayer can win the first wager or lose the first wager.

If (in operation 104) the player placed the double wager and loses thefirst wager then the player would also lose the double wager. If theplayer placed the double wager and ties the first wager then the playerwould typically tie on the double wager as well. If the player placedthe double wager and wins the first wager then the player wouldtypically win the double wager as well, and could win a different payouton the double wager than on the first wager (depending on the payoutschedule being used).

The second wager is resolved based on who (the player or the dealer) hasthe hand with the best poker rank. The player's poker hand is formedtaking the best poker hand using the player's second hand (dealt inoperation 101) and the community cards (dealt in operation 108). Thedealer's poker hand is formed taking the best poker hand using thedealer's hand (dealt in operation 101) and the community cards (dealt inoperation 108). There is no requirement that the player use all or anyof the cards in the player's second hand when forming the player's bestpoker hand. Similarly, there is no requirement that the dealer use allor any of the cards in the dealer's hand when forming the dealer's bestpoker hand. If the player's best poker hand ranks higher than thedealer's best poker hand, then the player wins the second wager and thuswill be paid a payout on the second wager. If the player's best pokerhand ranks lower than the dealer's best poker hand, then the playerloses the second wager and it will be taken by the dealer. If theplayer's best poker hand ties the dealer's best poker hand, then this isa tie. A tie can be resolved in numerous ways. For example, in case of atie regarding the poker hands, the player can push, win, or lose thesecond wager.

Poker hands can be formed as known in the art. For example, a table suchas that in Table III can be used to rank poker hands (ranked fromhighest to lowest). For example, for a discussion of how to rank pokerhands, see U.S. Pat. No. 6,511,068 which is incorporated by referenceherein in its entirety for all purposes.

TABLE III   Royal flush Straight flush Four of a kind Full house FlushStraight Three of a kind Two pair Pair High card

If the player placed the raise wager (in operation 107), then the raisewager wins or loses along with the second wager. A winning raise wagermay also pay at a different payout than the second wager, depending onthe payout schedule being used. For example, the player could win evenmoney on the second wager but a 3:1 payout on the raise wager.

FIG. 2A is a drawing of an exemplary table layout, according to anembodiment.

A physical gaming table can be placed in the casino. A felt (typicallygreen) can be on top of the table with a layout imprinted on it. Thistable can accommodate seven players, although of course any other numberof players can be accommodated as well. The dealer's hand 202, theplayer's hand 204, and the community cards 203 are dealt. A shoe 201 isused to hold the deck or decks of cards (one to 8 decks can be used ofstandard 52 card decks).

FIG. 2B is a drawing of an exemplary betting circle configuration for asingle player, according to an embodiment.

A baccarat bet betting circle 210 is used for the baccarat wager and apoker bet betting circle 211 is used for the poker wager. Each of theseven player areas in FIG. 2A has such a betting circle configuration.

An example of the game described herein will now be presented. Joeplaces a $1 baccarat (first) wager and a $1 poker (second) wager. Thedealer deals (using a single standard deck of 52 cards) Joe a first handof 4-diamonds and king-hearts, and a second hand of ace-spades and8-clubs. The dealer also deals himself two cards face down. Joes scoreon the first hand is two (4+10=12, and since 12 is greater than 9 thefirst digit is dropped), and according to Table I, this qualifies Joe toplace a double wager for the first hand (doubling the first wager). Joecan exercise the option to double or decline. Joe decides to double andplaces another $1 wager alongside the first wager. The dealer then dealsJoe an additional card which is a 5-diamonds, giving Joe a total of 7.According to Table II, Joe's hand does not qualify him to raise on thesecond hand (i.e. raise the second wager). The dealer then deals face up(or reveals them if they were already dealt face down) the fivecommunity cards which are:6-diamonds/6-spades/king-hearts/2-clubs/9-clubs. The dealer also revealsthe dealer's cards to be (or deals them face up if they were not yetalready dealt): 5-hearts/ace-clubs. Thus, the dealer's point total is 6(since aces count as 1). The dealer's point total is determined the sameway the player's point total is determined (modulo 10). Since Joe'spoint total of 7 is greater than the dealer's point total of 6, Joe winsand gets an even money payout on the original first wager of $1 and winsa 4:1 payout on the double wager for $4. If the dealer would have hadthe higher point total, then Joe would have lost both the first wagerand the double wager. Regarding the second wager, Joe's best 5 cardpoker hand is a pair of 6's (using the five community cards and Joe'sinitial two cards dealt. The card dealt for the double wager is not usedto determine the poker hand). The dealer's best poker hand is three of akind (three 6's) using the five community cards and the dealer's twocards. Thus, the dealer has the better poker hand and thus the playerloses the second (poker) wager. If the player would have had the betterpoker hand then the player would have won the second wager. Thus, theplayer wagered $3 ($1 for the first wager, $1 for the second wager, and$1 for the raise wager) and was paid $5 ($1 payout on the first wagerand $4 payout on the double wager) and lost the second wager. Thus theplayer ends the game with $7 in chips for a $4 profit.

FIG. 3A is a block diagram illustrating exemplary hardware to implementan electronic version of a wagering game, according to an embodiment.

A processing unit 300 can be a microprocessor and associated structure(e.g., cache, bus, etc.) The processing unit 300 can be connected to anoutput device 301 (e.g., touch-screen, LCD, speaker, CRT, etc.) and aninput device (e.g., touch-screen, keyboard, mouse, buttons, etc.) Theprocessing unit 300 can also be connected to a network unit 303 whichcan connect to any type of computer communication network(s) such as theInternet, WAN, LAN, wifi, etc. The processing unit 300 can also beconnected to a ROM 304, a RAM 305, and a storage unit 306 which can be ahard drive, CD-ROM drive, BLU-RAY drive, EPROM, etc. A computer readablestorage medium 307 can be a CD-ROM, BLU-RAY, etc, which is read by thestorage unit 306 and can store assets and instructions to direct theprocessing unit 300 to perform the methods described herein. Theprocessing unit 300 can also be connected to a bill acceptor 308 whichcan be accept cash and convert the cash into playable credits. The billacceptor 308 can also accept cashless tickets (vouchers) and any otherpayment forms. The processing unit 300 can also be connected to apayment unit 309 which can dispense payment to the player (in the formof coins or a cashless voucher). Payment can also be accepted/paid tothe payer using electronic methods of funding/payment such as usingdebit cards (or other electronic card), wire transfers, etc.

FIG. 3B is a block diagram illustrating exemplary hardware that can beused to track play at the gaming table, according to an embodiment.Player tracking devices are well known in the art, for example see U.S.Pat. No. 5,836,817, which is incorporated by reference herein in itsentirety for all purposes.

A first gaming table 310 and a second gaming table 311 can be trackedusing a computer which can be connected to an electronic card reader312. Thus, for example a player at either of the tables presents his orher players card to the dealer, who then passes it on to a pit staffmember who then swipes the card in the card 312. The card reader 312reads electronically encoded information on the card and transmits playinformation for the player to an electronic casino database 313. Thedatabase 313 can track things for each player such as playing times,average amount bet, win/loss, etc.

Any description of a component or embodiment herein also includeshardware, software, and configurations which already exist in the priorart and may be necessary to the operation of such component(s) orembodiment(s).

All of the methods herein can be implemented using one or more deck(s)of cards. The deck(s) can be standard 52 decks of cards or special decks(such as a Spanish deck). All wagers described herein can be placedusing cash or physical chips, the chips being redeemable for cash at thecasino cashier.

Further, the operations described herein can be performed in anysensible order. Any operations not required for proper operation can beoptional. Further, all methods described herein can also be stored on acomputer readable storage to control a computer.

The many features and advantages of the invention are apparent from thedetailed specification and, thus, it is intended by the appended claimsto cover all such features and advantages of the invention that fallwithin the true spirit and scope of the invention. Further, sincenumerous modifications and changes will readily occur to those skilledin the art, it is not desired to limit the invention to the exactconstruction and operation illustrated and described, and accordinglyall suitable modifications and equivalents may be resorted to, fallingwithin the scope of the invention.

What is claimed is:
 1. A method for playing a wagering game, the methodcomprising: providing a physical deck(s) of cards; receiving, from aplayer, a first wager and a second wager; dealing, to the player, aplayer's first hand and a player's second hand; dealing a dealer's hand;dealing a set of community cards; determining a player's point total ofthe player's first hand; determining a dealer's point total of thedealer's hand; determining a player's poker hand using the player'ssecond hand and the community cards; determining a dealer's poker handusing the dealer's hand and the community cards; resolving the firstwager based on a relationship between the player's point total and thedealer's point total; and resolving the second wager based on arelationship between the player's poker hand and the dealer's pokerhand.
 2. The method as recited in claim 1, wherein the player's pointtotal is determined using modulo
 10. 3. The method as recited in claim1, wherein the dealer's point total is determined using modulo
 10. 4.The method as recited in claim 1, wherein after the player's first handis dealt, offering the player an option to place a double wager on thefirst wager, the double wager on the first wager wins and loses alongwith the first wager.
 5. The method as recited in claim 4, wherein thedouble wager is paid at a different payout than the first wager.
 6. Themethod as recited in claim 1, wherein after the player's first hand isdealt, determining if the player's first hand qualifies the player toplace a double wager, and if so, then offering the player an option toplace the double wager on the first wager, the double wager on the firstwager wins and loses along with the first wager.
 7. The method asrecited in claim 1, wherein after the player's second hand is dealt,offering the player an option to place a raise wager on the secondwager, the raise wager on the second wager wins and loses along with thesecond wager.
 8. The method as recited in claim 7, wherein the raisewager is paid at a different payout than the second wager.
 9. The methodas recited in claim 1, wherein after the player's second hand is dealt,determining if the player's second hand qualifies the player to place araise wager, and if so, then offering the player an option to player theraise wager on the second wager, the raise wager on the second wagerwins and loses along with the second wager.
 10. An electronic device toplayer playing a wagering game, the device comprising: an input deviceand an output device; a processing unit configured to operate with theinput device and the output device, the processing unit configured toexecute instructions to perform: receiving, from a player, a first wagerand a second wager; dealing, to the player, a player's first hand and aplayer's second hand; dealing a dealer's hand; dealing a set ofcommunity cards; determining a player's point total of the player'sfirst hand; determining a dealer's point total of the dealer's hand;determining a player's poker hand using the player's second hand and thecommunity cards; determining a dealer's poker hand using the dealer'shand and the community cards; resolving the first wager based on arelationship between the player's point total and the dealer's pointtotal; and resolving the second wager based on a relationship betweenthe player's poker hand and the dealer's poker hand.
 11. The device asrecited in claim 10, wherein the player's point total is determinedusing modulo
 10. 12. The device as recited in claim 10, wherein thedealer's point total is determined using modulo
 10. 13. The device asrecited in claim 10, wherein after the player's first hand is dealt,offering the player an option to place a double wager on the firstwager, the double wager on the first wager wins and loses along with thefirst wager.
 14. The device as recited in claim 13, wherein the doublewager is paid at a different payout than the first wager.
 15. The deviceas recited in claim 10, wherein after the player's first hand is dealt,determining if the player's first hand qualifies the player to place adouble wager, and if so, then offering the player an option to place thedouble wager on the first wager, the double wager on the first wagerwins and loses along with the first wager.
 16. The device as recited inclaim 10, wherein after the player's second hand is dealt, offering theplayer an option to place a raise wager on the second wager, the raisewager on the second wager wins and loses along with the second wager.17. The device as recited in claim 16, wherein the raise wager is paidat a different payout than the second wager.
 18. The device as recitedin claim 10, wherein after the player's second hand is dealt,determining if the player's second hand qualifies the player to place araise wager, and if so, then offering the player an option to player theraise wager on the second wager, the raise wager on the second wagerwins and loses along with the second wager.